Category: Alex Anthopoulos

On this, the evening of Brad Mill’s second start of the season, I renew my claim that anything can happen in this starting rotation.

A guy named Brett Lawrie also takes his first career at bats this eve.

Seven straight balls from Brad Mills in the third inning. I digress, or not.

If the wind does not blow in Mills’ direction tonight, does Litsch then rejoin the rotation?

Luis Perez is also in the running. Jays management would seem to want to have a look at him in the rotation, or so it has been suggested by the Jays Talk. Since Mills has already thrown a few starts over the past three seasons, he now needs a string of quality starts to stick around.

One out, two on, bottom of three. Blue Birds four, Orange ones two.

If and when he does join the rotation, Luis Perez will have a slightly longer leash than Mills, given that it would be his first opportunity.

One gets the sense that this will be the last best chance for Brad Mills to permanently join the ranks of MLB starters.

If only in shades, does watching Brad Mills pitch remind you of a young Jimmy Key?

He’s out of the third. Two runners left on.

Brett Lawrie to take his second at bat. No longer batting 1000.

Mills survives the fourth.

Alan Ashby and Jerry Howarth speak in ominous tones about Mills’ shaky control, leaving pitches well above and up in the zone. Can he settle in for another few innings?

Three up, three down in the fifth. Mills in position for the win.

Jerry Howarth just called Brad Mills a magician. Alan Ashby corrects himself on having judged Mills too harshly.

It’s clear Alan Ashby does not get a good feeling watching Brad Mills, pitching high with a fastball of 86 mph.

Mills then walks two, loads the bases, and allows another run.

Jays 4, Orioles 3.

In comes Perez to get the Jays out of the sixth.

Jays jump ahead to a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh.

Litsch comes in to get the Jays through the seventh.

It looks like neither Perez or Litsch will fill Villanueva’s rotation spot.

Could it be the second coming of Kyle Drabek? Or the first coming of Henderson Alvarez?

Frank Francisco continues his streak of effectiveness with a clean eighth inning.

Brad Mills will earn the victory on 5.1 IP and 3 ER, 4 BB and 5 SO, if John Rauch can lock it down in the ninth.

Rauch has been our most reliable closer of the season, and that’s not saying much at all.

I look forward to saying goodbye to this man, though not as excruciating as Kevin Gregg, he is less effective and certainly a place holder with a very limited shelf life in Toronto.

He did it. Rauch the save, Mills the win and most likely another whirl (start), despite not pitching nearly as well tonight as he did in his last outing.

He may be one of these guys who can buck the trend. Maybe he can get away with throwing up in the zone, said Ashby.

Jo Jo Reyes is out. Brad Mills is in, at least for today. Jesse Litsch, also called up, will work out of the bullpen, in the wake of the departure of Mark Rzepcynski, Jason Frasor and Octavio Dotel.

Welcome Colby Rasmus. Hopefully, he and Travis Snider will push each other to meet their ubiquitously spoken of potential.

As of Wednesday July 27, GM Alex Anthopolous, video seen at Getting Blanked, had only stated that Brad Mills was called up for temporary bullpen depth, until the Blue Jays new pitchers (P.J. Walters and Trevor Miller) arrived. A decision had not yet been made on who would start Saturday’s game. How quickly things change in these starting rotation sweepstakes. Brad Mills is our #5.

According to Mike Wilner on the Jays Talk, Mills is likely getting the start today as a way of showing him off as potential trade bait, before the deadline strikes Sunday. The following John Farrell quote from bluejays. com, provides some context:

“The fact that Brad has thrown the ball exceptionally well in Las Vegas, I think he’s earned the spot,” manager John Farrell said. “He’s got the opportunity to take this start and run with it.”

Whatever the case may be, Mills deserves at least a 10 game stint in some major league ball club’s starting rotation.

He’s dominated in Triple-A, unlike Brett Cecil, Jesse Litsch and Kyle Drabek. He’s got a lot to prove at the big league level, and I think he’s about ready to do it.

Zach Stewart is out, no longer part of the puzzle. Our depth of starting rotation makes losing Zach a moot point, (in the modern sense of the term).

I don’t think Luis Perez has earned his shot in the rotation, though look for him to rejoin the big club’s bullpen soon.

Carlos Villanueva will have to pitch better than he did Thursday over his next three starts, especially if Mills hangs around, Litsch pitches well in long relief and Kyle Drabek continues to bring his ERA back down to Earth.

Exciting times, indeed.

Chad Beck made the jump to Las Vegas this week. Deck McGuire is now a New Hampshire Fisher Cat, and Dustin McGowan is now up to pitching three innings per start with Dunedin. Joel Carreno and Henderson Alvarez are knocking on the Blue Jays door. It will be interesting to see if either gets the chance to show his stuff when the roster expands to 40 come September.

Aaron Hill has lost what once put him in a position to earn Vernon Wellsian dollars.

Like the extinct Russ Adams, his former infield partner, the errant Hill has come nowhere close to meeting expectations. Like Adams, he just isn’t good enough for this team. Unlike Adams, he will find a home with another major league club, but not for eight million dollars.

He remains a lingering piece of the failed Ricciardi plan, a relic of the Vernon Wells era. Wells and Hill were good friends and teammates for six years. Perhaps Wells planted the seed of ineptitude that seems to grow in the psyche of Hill. Could he be ruminating on the following:

I am going to hit into a double play.

I know I’m going to fly out again.

I can’t do it any more.

I don’t deserve this money.

I am not the all-star I used to be, and I never will be again.

It is shaky ground upon which analysts pass judgement on a player’s lack of performance by declaring: he lacks desire or confidence. But he does have a dazed look in his eyes, and a demeanour of resignation. Just what caused the change in Hill cannot be determined objectively.

Are we seeing the long-term effects of his concussion?

Did opposing pitchers figure out a permanent way to get him out?

And has Hill failed to make the requisite adjustments?

The fact is that Hill does not contribute enough. The numbers do not lie.

The Blue Jays Luddite predicts that Hill will be placed on waivers some time in August, and Bluebird Banter muses on the woes of Hill at the plate and considers possible replacements. One of whom might be our old friend Marco Scutaro, who has proven ability to get on base and play good defense. Dustin Parkes at Getting Blanked explains possible outcomes for Hill and the Blue Jays, depending on whether he finishes 2011 as a Type A or Type B free agent.

It has been an abominable dissension in the ranks for Hill, and a mystery for the Blue Jays.

Just what happened to the man since his all-star season of 2009, no one, Hill included, seems to know.

This Aaron Hill is a shadow of his former self, and it now appears likely that he will not be back, or should not be back in 2012.

To animate the notion of a malleable starting rotation, composed of this organization’s top 20 starters, think gelatinous blob. Individual forces push toward and pull back from various spots, while overall movement trends in the same direction.

The blob is getting bigger.

It was last spotted heading south.

Engrossing New York and Boston is only a matter of time.

Brett Cecil is looking more like a #3 man. Tao of Stieb waxes poetic on the thighs of Cecil, which recovered from a rough last outing and a trying stretch to start the game against the Red Sox last night, going the distance in a losing cause at Fenway Park.

Robert Ray, thought to have been released outright by the Blue Jays May 19, 2011, is, in fact, still in the organization. Signed as a free agent on May 21, 2011, Ray has been in the New Hampshire Fisher Cats starting rotation since June 12. He yesterday logged his second quality start in five tries.

27.0 IP, 7.33 ERA, 1.63 WHIP , 23 SO

Since his promotion from Dunedin to New Hampshire, Henderson Alvarez has started nine games for the Fisher Cats.

53.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 37 SO

Also making the jump to the Blue Jays Double-A starting rotation, Chad Jenkins has started five games. The 2009 first round draft pick would also seem to belong.

35.0 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 21 SO

Considering the Jays organization has promoted two of its better young pitchers (Drabek and Stewart) directly from Double-A to the Big Leagues, it is within the realm of possibility that Carreno, Alvarez, or Jenkins could get a look sooner than later.

Dustin McGowan, who was reported to have been shut down due to shoulder soreness, did miss a simulated start but threw two bullpen sessions instead last week. Tonight, July 6, he started his second game for the Dunedin Blue Jays, throwing two scoreless innings before youngster Drew Hutchison replaced him.

The 20-year-old Hutchison, a 15th round selection in 2009, has been promoted to Dunedin from the Lansing Lugnuts. In his first two starts, June 26 and July 1, Hutchison did not allow a run. He was pitching in his third game at the time of this posting.

As it concerns demoted and rehabilitating Blue Jays starters, the news out of New Hampshire is better than out of Las Vegas.

Jesse Litsch barrels along the comeback trail, making the jump from Lansing to New Hampshire. His two starts for the Double-A Fisher Cats have bested the one in A-ball the previous week, where he gave up three runs in two(+) innings of work.

After 3.2 shutout innings June 23, Litsch lasted five innings and gave up one run June 28. His next start will likely take place in a Las Vegas 51s uniform.

The question, however, is whether the Jays starting rotation will a have a space available for Litsch when he is ready. With Villanueva pitching so reliably, I would be inclined to think not yet.

If anyone gets the yank, it should be Jo Jo Reyes, especially if his next start ends as soon as his last one did (3.2 IP, 6 ER).

The .363 blog posted an interesting take yesterday on the shelf life of Jo Jo.

Brad Mills, June 26, went six innings for the 51s, allowing four earned runs, days before getting passed up for a Toronto promotion. Though he seems to have hit a bit of a rough patch in the Pacific Coast League, statistically, he remains at the top among all starting pitchers there:

3.72 ERA (3rd), 101.2 IP (2nd), 1.28 WHIP (2nd), 92 SO (1st)

Brett Cecil, June 23, also went six innings for the 51s in his last start, allowing five earned runs. The Jays called him up anyway June 29. Cecil’s velocity has returned, touching 93 and averaging 89 mph, which returns the 6-10 mph differential considered necessary for an effective change-up.

Discounting two God-awful performances for Las Vegas, Cecil has almost matched Brad Mills in core performance measurements. Cecil also has something Mills may never have: a 15 win season at the major league level.

In related news, the Zach Stewart flirtation is over. See you in September, Zach. New Hampshire’s lucky to have you. I’m sure you will be fighting hard for your return and a pass to a proper rookie season in 2012.

I still think his ticket ought to include a pass through Las Vegas.

Upon being reactivated to the 25-man roster, Cecil alluded to the very real difference between pitching in the Pacific Coast and Majors, saying he had never had to base pitch selection on which way the wind is blowing. Perhaps it is that sort of thing the Jays want to avoid with Zach Stewart, having returned him to the Fisher Cats of the Double-A Eastern League.

Only nine PCL starting pitchers now hold an ERA below 4.00, while just 27 have ERA below 5.00 in the 16-team league.

Among them, the Jays forgettable 5th starter of Spring 2010, Dana Eveland, is enjoying a bit of success in that league. His 7-4 record and 3.86 ERA through 16 starts (91 IP) for the Albuquerue Isotopes may serve to give the 27-year-old another shot with a major league club. Just so long as it’s not with the Jays, preferably with an AL East squad. Eveland went 3-4 with a 6.45 ERA in 44.2 IP before the Jays traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ronald Uviedo, June 1, 2010.

As regards another former 5th starter, I would be shocked to ever see Scott Richmond start a regular season game for the Blue Jays. The #3 man in Las Vegas, has gone 4-6 with a 6.26 ERA and given up 14 HR in hitter-friendly air. In my estimation, the April 2009 MLB rookie of the month, now sits 11th in the organization’s depth chart.

My characterization of depth chart is one of constant malleability that considers current performance, health, and major league readiness as its main criteria, but also takes into account perceived statistical blips and temporary setbacks, such as in the case of Brett Cecil. My top five, though not in the same order as Bluejays. com or Torontostar. com, will not include players outside the starting rotation.

That said, when Litsch was still with the Lansing Lugnuts and Cecil still finding his form with the Las Vegas 51s, I believe Brad Mills was the most deserving candidate to take on the spot surrendered by Kyle Drabek.

Since Mark Rzepczynski has adjusted so well to his new role as lefty-specialist in middle relief, I’ve left him off this list.

Ricky Romero

Brandon Morrow

Brett Cecil

Carlos Villanueva

Jo Jo Reyes

Jesse Litsch

Brad Mills

Kyle Drabek

Zach Stewart

Dustin McGowan

Scott Richmond

The oft-injured Robert Ray, who filled in adequately in the 2010 Jays rotation (4 GS, 24.1 IP, 4.44 ERA, 1-2) and pitched 3.2 innings of shutout relief last September, was released May 19, 2011. Dustin McGowan, contrary to first report, has not been shut down due to forearm stiffness. He threw a full bullpen session Monday. I’ll be waiting on the proverbial seat-edge to learn whether he pitches his next scheduled simulated game. To see him rejoin the starting rotation in September would be a thing of miraculous beauty.